The Bird Shamans
Written by Tim Yearington / Grey Thunderbird Man
“In the time of the Seventh Fire, the bird shamans will guide lost people back to the land to the sacred places. The medicine places. The power places. And in their search for knowledge, vision seekers will quest for the thunderbird nests. But only the thunderbirds will know the way.” - Grey Thunderbird Man/Tim Yearington
THERE WAS A TIME when the people of the planet believed that it would even be possible; that another World War, now the third, would ever be waged due to the dire consequences to all life left surviving upon the Earth.
The wise elders saw the writing on the wall. The annihilation of the misguided Human World would come not from some “alien” threat, but because of humankind’s own ignorance, greed and blatant disrespect of the natural world and the way balance needs to be maintained upon the planet to ensure the survival of all life forms on Earth.
But the elders gave up, raised their arms to the sky and left the circle.
They too became disheartened and disgusted with the mad money driven, economic and material mindset still controlling humankind’s every illogical decision. Even all the human nations of Earth – who came together as one great thundering voice – had given up hope of any real change in their lifetime. The greedy serpents now ruling Earth were just too strong.
Eventually all of those of my own kind, the bird shamans, were intentionally sought out by the diabolical World Order Exercise. Their extermination missions became known as the W.O.E. And much woe they truly brought! Many of my clan were ruthlessly hunted, tortured and murdered. Those hundred years of horror were as equally tragic as the obscene, insane and inhumane hunt for heretics and witches committed by the Christian priests of the Spanish Inquisition well over two thousand years ago now.
But not all bird shamans died.
Not all of us were caught.
Although far from being an abundant population, a few of us managed to escape to the remote, highland wilderness realms that began to grow north of the cities due to climate change. And when the dense fog of the Third World War settled and Earth’s civilization ceased burning, the sacred fire within the hearts of the surviving human beings began to fade away. The people grew overwhelmed by the growing depression and darkness consuming them. Yet this very darkness was needed. This was the moment we bird shamans had been waiting for.
This was the time for us to act.
We’d been training for many generations and now the last of us were prepared. We, the nearly extinct bird shamans, emerged from the darkness with much to share. And why? Because we still held the priceless, ancient practices of our powerful medicine ways; the ways that once had become guarded secrets.
Do I have your attention now?
If so, then it’s time to hear what I have to say.
Are those of you who are lost still willing to listen?
I was once a man as young, strong and vibrant as all of you who now stand around me in this old stone circle in tears. I know you are lost. I can see you are afraid. So please hear what I will tell you – once again – now that your ears have grown longer like a rabbit’s and you are finally willing to use them to listen. Hear the ancestral teachings my tongue now speaks of. Within the rain of my own eyes please see the truth. Trust the wisdom of my being only because of the loud thunder you will hear within your own heartbeat. Know the lightning of my spirit within your own spirit.
And follow it!
This place of power you’ve heard about in the distant legends of the Old Ones is not a myth. It is a reality. I know it to be real because I myself journeyed there when I was once fit, headstrong and filled with passion like all of you are. But as your own disenchanted world now believes and fears, please understand this tremendous place of power was not lost.
It never was.
It still exists because we the people of the bird clan, the bird shamans, the last of the true thunderbirds, made certain its protected location would remain. For years the purpose of our great work was to ensure the sacred nesting site of the thunderbirds would endure. Our mission was to safeguard the nest all costs for future generations of thunderbirds to utilize.
Yes, the sacred site of the thunderbird nest is real.
And there’s more than one. In the high places there are many!
Now, if you so desire, with all your courage you must begin your quest for the nests. With all your resolve you must search to find them. With all your discipline you must learn how to use them. And with all your strength you must remain in them to endure the coming storm. Because it’s only in this way that the powerful helpers of the Great Spirit – the thunderbirds – will know it’s time to fly back to Earth again to help heal humankind.
To help us believe in what truly matters.
And to help us accept we can change.
For the greater good of us all.
Tim Yearington/Grey Thunderbird Man is an Algonquin Worldview Educator, a traditional knowledge keeper and a thunderbird medicine man/shaman. As a writer he authored the empowering book, Quest for the Thunderbird Nest - Returning to Algonquin Spirituality (Borealis Press, Ottawa, 2019). As a seasoned spiritual helper Tim practices traditional medicine work with people, guides medicine walks on the land and conducts personal healing ceremonies. Tim is also a passionate artist, a stirring storyteller and a potent public speaker. He and his partner Shannon enjoy time spent hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing and backcountry skiing in Algonquin territory.
